Citi UAE, the leading provider of cash management and trade services in the MENA region and Now Health International, an international health insurance provider with regional services in the UAE, have announced a partnership, whereby Citi UAE will provide direct debit services to Now Health International as a collection channel for their insurance premiums.

The direct debit solution will use Citi’s Award Winning Online portal CitiDirect BE, which will enable Now Health International to submit collection requests via the portal through its existing approval process, and reconcile them at end of day through streamlined reports.

Citi has been an active participant in the UAE Direct Debit System (UAEDDS), since the Central Bank launched it in 2013.

Although Citi has been providing direct debit services to its retail clients since the launch of the first phase of the UAE direct debit system program, this partnership with Now Health International is a landmark deal for Citi UAE, since it is Citi’s first corporate direct debit services mandate. Now Health International will also be the first private insurance company in the UAE to go live on UAEDDS.

“As client demand continues to increase for digital banking, we continually strive to deliver state-of-the-art solutions to our customers,” said Steve Donovan, Head of Citi’s Treasury and Trade Solutions, Middle East, North Africa, Pakistan and Turkey.

Sonja L. de Pattenden, Business Development Director for the Middle East and Africa commented, “The addition of Direct Debits is a major step forward in providing a simpler way for our individual customers to pay their premiums.”

Now Health International is a market leading international health insurance provider who has been operating since 2011. They are a specialist insurance provider, underwritten by the world’s leading insurers and reinsurers, who with a fresh approach, provide benefit-rich products combined with an exemplary service for its customers.